Mission & Core Values

Mission

The mission of The Rashi School is to provide a dynamic, child-centered program of academic excellence that integrates rich secular and Jewish studies curricula and nurtures in its students critical minds and compassionate hearts.

As a Reform Jewish Independent school, our values infuse everything that happens at Rashi, from how we greet each other in the morning to how our curriculum connects Jewish and secular learning. Rashi students develop a strong sense of personal identity and responsibility, with confidence to try new things, a commitment to social justice, and values that apply to every area of their lives.

Our focus is not only on the students we’re teaching now, but on the adults they will become.

Our Core Values

The five core values of the school are stencilled onto the walls of every classroom in the building. These words serve as constant reminders of the roots of the school and are central to everything we do.

List of 5 items.

Our goal is for each child to love learning as a lifetime pursuit and to be motivated to reach his/her highest potential. Our faculty is charged with helping youngsters understand that learning involves taking risks, making mistakes and having the resilience and curiosity to persevere. We encourage Rashi students to think and reason in the process of making informed choices and to develop the skills that are basic to the major academic disciplines. We offer a strong general studies curriculum interwoven with Jewish studies, Hebrew language and the values of our tradition.

The Rashi community embodies the concepts of Tzedek (justice), Tzedakah (righteous acts) and Tikkun Olam (repair of our world), by providing many opportunities to explore, study and do all of the above. Rashi students learn about the situations of Jews in communities around the world and about human rights for all people. They study Torah as text and as a lifelong guide to making decisions and taking action. They develop the tools to carry out the imperative to create a strong and confident future. Learning to see the world through Jewish eyes, Rashi students learn to act, with compassion and commitment, in ways that make important contributions to humanity. Rashi, the great scholar taught us, "one reveals his values by what he teaches his children".

Walk into any Rashi classroom and capture the sense of caring and concern for one another that is apparent in hundreds of interactions every day. This environment enables our children to become proud, knowledgeable and compassionate Jews who are secure in their heritage. Students develop a strong sense of self-worth, love, and respect for people and a feeling of reverence for the natural world. Our community draws together teachers, students, administrators, support staff, parents, grandparents, siblings, families, friends, and others in the community who resonate to and participate in Rashi’s message and mission.

From kindergarten on, Rashi students learn that differences are to share and celebrate. Each person deserves to be treated with dignity; each has a responsibility to protect our world. Rashi students learn thatKavod is closely linked to our behavior. We demonstrate kavod by developing a healthy self-awareness, by taking pride in our work, our words and our deeds, and by learning to advocate for our beliefs. Kavod is about our relationships with others: listening, respecting other opinions and learning to disagree without anger. It is about knowing how to offer help without destroying pride and learning how to accept it without shame or anger. Ben Zoma teaches: "Who is worthy of kavod? One who treats others with Kavod.

There is something special and distinctive about Rashi. The curriculum that integrates Jewish and secular subjects, the emphasis on social justice, the interactions between generations, the friendships that are formed, the kind, caring, and genuine way in which people speak with one another - that is Ruach Elohim. The freedom students feel to be themselves, the comfort with creating respectful dialogue over difficult topics, the melodies and prayers that emanate from the school - this is Ruach Elohim. The care the teachers and administration show for each and every student, the expert way adults guide and shape young people, the light that children emanate while walking through the halls - this is Ruach Elohim.

Ruach Elohim is infused into each classroom, into the curriculum, and into the connections that people make with one another during each day. Just as our ancestor Jacob declared after feeling God's presence, "God is in this place, and I, I did not at first know it."

Our children will graduate prepared not just to thrive in the world but to work to make it even better for all of us.